THE United States' trade deficit with China surged to US$16.92 billion in the first 11 months of last year, well ahead of the $12.7 billion deficit recorded for the whole of 1991.
The chairman-elect of the American Chamber of Commerce, Mr Lyn Edinger, yesterday said both the existing deficit and projections of more than $30 billion during the term of incoming US President Bill Clinton were alarming and totally unsustainable.
The burgeoning deficit, which is expected to come in for tough scrutiny when Mr Clinton takes office next week, was boosted by a $1.62 billion shortfall in November.
The figure was down on the $2 billion in October largely due to seasonal factors.
America's deficit with Hongkong narrowed to $43.4 million from $168.1 million in October. Economists attributed the dip to pushing big order shipments out before November and December.
The overall US merchandise trade deficit widened slightly to $7.59 billion in November as a drop in exports outpaced a slide in imports.
Figures released by the Commerce Department show the trade gap swelled by nearly $400 million from October's $7.22 billion deficit.
